I Don't Feel So Well
by Twilily
Summary: "I don't feel so well." Filling in some of the blanks during the Season 1 Finale from the moment Walter is pulled from the car. Requested story!
1. Chapter 1

_Hello again! I started this before I left for the Dominican Republic for vacation but forgot to post! My apologies! This story is by request from_ **lanteaddicted** _. I hope I can deliver on what is asked of me (duh duh duuuuuuh)! Basically, the request is to fill in some of the blank spaces during the season 1 finale of Scorpion. Here we go…._

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scorpion…or much else for that matter._

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Cabe's hand gripped Walter's arm tightly. The former agent had promised Walter that he wouldn't let go and he'd be damned if he was going to do that. The entire team was looking on and holding their breath. So many things had changed for the group in the last 24 hours and for the majority of the day, they had been on the tipping point. If Walter didn't make it out of this alive, the company wouldn't survive. Friendships would be broken beyond repair. Lives would be forever changed.

As the two men were lowered closer to the ground by Happy at the helm of the crane, the emergency responders were waiting with a gurney for Walter. He was caught by the EMTs and gingerly placed on the portable bed. Paige and Ralph ran up to him and all Walter wanted to do was finish what he was telling the single mom and he couldn't do it. Physically, he was unable to voice his thoughts. Walter could feel the adrenaline wear off and it was not good.

"I don't feel so well." Walter could barely get the words out as he practically choked on them.

The first responders were working quickly but it was all a blur to the team. They could only focus on their boss and their friend. They had nearly lost him and the fight wasn't over. He would still need surgery. He would still need recovery…both physically and mentally. But he needed to make it through today.

"Ma'am, please stand back," said one of the EMTs as he placed an oxygen mask on the genius' face.

His breathing looked shallow to Paige but she wasn't surprised. The man had been pinned inside a broken car on the side of a steep cliff since late last night. Ever since she walked out on him and the rest of the team.

The guilt crushed her. She knew that it was her fault.

"Mom?" Paige looked down to see Ralph staring up at her.

"Yes baby?"

"Is Walter going to be ok?"

"I hope so." She couldn't lie to him. She didn't know for sure but she could hope better than the best of them.

The young mother held her little boy tightly. She was sending as many good thoughts towards Walter as she watched him being loaded into the back of the ambulance. The moment the truck sped away, she was bombarded.

"Paige, where have you been? Do you know how long we were trying to get a hold of you?" Sylvester's voice gutted her.

"I'm sorry. Walter not answering Ralph's phone calls, not to mention my confrontation with Happy, rubbed me the wrong way so I shut off my phone. We were at the airport when we saw the news footage. We got here as fast as we could."

"So you were just going to take Ralph from us and run away? Couldn't wait to get out of town, huh?" Paige closed her eyes when Toby spoke, trying to fight back tears

"Listen, I already endured an earful from Happy this morning. I don't need this from you, Toby."

Happy had joined the group by this point but she'd said her peace to the young mom. She just stood back and watched.

"But you couldn't call? Do you know how many times he was asking for you and you weren't here?!"

"No, Sylvester! I couldn't call! In my rush to get Ralph back to the car so we could get here, I left my bag at the airport!" Paige was losing it. All she wanted to do was get to the hospital and pray for Walter. "I shouldn't have to explain myself but I was protecting Ralph. I'm sorry I wasn't accessible today. I regret it. You have no idea how much I regret it, but I'm not sorry for putting my son first!"

"HEY!"

Cabe's voice overpowered the group.

"Walter is fighting for his life and has been all day. How about we let bygons be bygons and go see our boy?"

The group quieted down looking ashamed. Cabe knew that he was responsible for Walter being on that cliff. He set off the domino effect. He needed to get to the hospital to see the man he considered to be his 'son' but he needed to pull this group together.

"Now, Sylvester is coming with me. Paige, you and Ralph meet us at the hospital. You two," he said pointing to Happy and Toby, "will ride together as well. Let's move!"

"Come on, Ralph." Paige didn't need to be told twice. Without a look back at the team, she grabbed Ralph's hand and briskly walked back to her car with her son in tow, her tears flowing freely now without shame.

As she helped Ralph into the backseat, she took a deep but shaky breath and tried to regain her composure. She needed to get it together before reaching the hospital. She had to be strong for Ralph and for Walter.

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 _What do you think so far? More to come!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed this story! Please keep them coming! Not quite to the hospital yet but close. Ok, next chapter…here we go!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own nuffin'._

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"How could she just leave?" Sylvester's emotions were working on overdrive thinking of Paige taking Ralph to Portland.

"Kid, you do what you can to protect the people you love."

Sylvester was quiet for a moment while he worked out what Cabe was telling him.

"But you hurt Walter and you love him."

"I do. He means the world to me, whether he believes that or not. But I withheld the truth to protect him. It backfired and I regret my decision to keep it from him for so long, but I know he would have never accepted me back in his life if I had told him everything when he was 16."

"But Paige…"

"Paige's priority is Ralph. She cares about this team but she's a mother. She would do anything for her child, including deny her own happiness if it meant protecting her son." Cabe took a beat before continuing.

"You all need to cut her some slack. She's doing the best she can and she's got more feelings than all of you genius' put together. Try to put yourself in her shoes. She's hurting just as much, if not more, than the rest of you."

Sylvester nodded and thought of another question.

"On a side note, what happens to Scorpion if you are no longer with Homeland?"

Cabe sighed.

"Let's worry about Walter at the moment and deal with that later."

Sylvester continued to be silent the remainder of the ride to the hospital.

In a faded Monte Carlo, a similar conversation was taking place.

"Listen, I get that she's got a lot on her plate, but when the going gets tough she showed us her true colors. She bailed on us."

"Happy, I'm not disagreeing with you." Toby drove quickly but safely. He was a more cautious driver than Happy or Walter. And after Walt's most recently joyride, Toby had a feeling he would be paying attention to his own driving more closely.

"No Devil's Advocate from the peanut gallery?"

"Nope. Not this time. She abandoned us. She abandoned Walter. He needed her today."

"And she showed, when he needed her the most. You heard him…he was refusing to get out of the car. He would have gone down with the ship, so to speak, but he didn't, because she was there."

Toby snorted his derision. A few moments passed before Happy broke the silence.

"Fine…I'll do it. One Devil's Advocate, coming right up."

Toby raised an eyebrow as Happy continued.

"Imagine that Ralph was your kid. And you spotted him doing something dangerous related to your work when you thought he was somewhere safe. How would you react?"

Toby took a moment before answering.

"As much as I'd like to think I could think that through, if I were 'normal' I would probably react rashly. I would be protective."

"So, what's the difference between what you _would_ do and what Paige _did_?"

"Why, Ms. Quinn, when did you change sides?" Toby was intrigued at where Happy was going with this conversation.

"Once Walt was safe, I could take a breath and a step back. I watched you all attack Paige, not unlike what I did with her over the phone this morning. I realized that while she pissed me off, I would have wanted my parents to have done the same with me if they had the chance. It would have shown that they cared for me, like she obviously cares for Ralph."

"But she cares for Walt too and she stomped all over him just before walking out on him. On all of us!"

"And what do we do when confronted with serious feelings and emotions? You said it yourself in Bosnia. _You_ make jokes and _I_ close up. She put on her armor and unleashed her defense mechanism. She protected herself as well as Ralph."

Toby glanced over at the mechanic with a smirk.

"Very astute observation."

"You aren't the only one who has eyes."

"And very lovely ones at that."

Happy just shook her head as they continued down the road.

Paige and Ralph were practically backtracking their earlier journey from the airport. Granted, they weren't going as far as LAX but the hospital was in the same general direction.

Ralph kept quiet in the backseat while the radio continuously reported updates from Walter's cliffside rescue. At every commercial break Paige found herself releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. She had experienced the same gut-wrenching fear when she didn't think she and Ralph would be fast enough to get to Walter and seeing him in the crumpled car as she did when Ralph was slipping down the incinerator shaft and Toby and Happy were holding onto her legs as she struggled to reach him.

Walter had put himself in harm's way before but this time hit too close to home for her. She couldn't bear the thought of a life without Ralph but a life without Walter was just as unthinkable to her. The world needed him. Ralph needed him and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't need him. Without him, her connection to Ralph would be nonexistent. Her relationship with her own son would have been as it had been: distant.

But it was more than that. He was more than that to her. More than just a way to connect with her son. More than a boss. More than a friend.

He was just…more.

"Mom?"

"What is it, honey?"

"Why are you upset?"

It was then that Paige realize that the tears had returned and were streaming down her face.

"I'm just…happy that Walter is safe." She brought her hand to her face to wipe away the dampness on her cheeks.

"Me too. I don't want to lose him." She smiled at Ralph's answer and she completely understood.

"I don't either, baby."

Paige sighed deeply, raising a questioning look from her son through the rear view mirror.

"It's nothing, Ralph. Just thinking about how I need to call your dad."

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 _Ok…another chapter down. Please continue to review and let me know what you think, what you'd like to see happen next, etc!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or followed me or this story. It really does help me write when I know people are liking what I'm doing! I will tell you that from my many experiences with hospitals (as a patient) I don't think they all work like this but I've had this happen to me once, so I'm making it work for my story! ;-)_

 _DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned SCORPION, but sadly, I don't…CBS does._

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The three vehicles pulled into the hospital parking lot at roughly the same time. While the three adult geniuses quickly got out of their cars and headed to the hospital doors, Cabe stayed behind to help Paige with Ralph.

At first the walk to the building was quiet but not for long.

"Listen, kid. I just want you to know that the team told me what happened last night."

"Cabe, I can't change the past."

"Nor can I and I don't blame you for what you did."

"Well the team sure as hell does. I don't anticipate them letting this go anytime soon."

"You might be surprised."

Paige let out an exacerbated sigh. Cabe stopped her and Ralph before entering the main entrance of the hospital.

"You were doing what you felt was right to protect your son. I was doing what I thought was right to protect Walter. We had honorable intentions that unfortunately didn't go as planned. But we did what we did for a reason. It's what you do when you love someone. You try to protect them from unnecessary harm."

"But…Walter...I…" Paige's eyes teared up and her words were caught in her throat. Cabe seemed to understand.

"I know, kid. I know."

He pulled her and the young genius into a fatherly hug. Walter had always been like a son to him and no matter what happened between them, he would always care about the man as such. The rest of the team quickly became family to him as well, but none as much as Ralph and Paige. They came in at a close second behind the leader of Scorpion.

"It's going to be ok," he said, whispering in his ear.

"Thank you for understanding," Paige choked out into his shoulder.

"Out of all of us, I definitely understand." Paige nodded at the former agent, who continued. "Now, let's go check on Walter."

Paige wiped her cheeks with her free hand before clenching the other around Ralph's and moving through the doors.

Back in the lobby, Toby, Happy and Sylvester had all been watching the scene outside the hospital unfold. A pit of guilt had settled into Sylvester's stomach.

"You guys? Paige really seems to be hurting."

"Sly, if you haven't noticed, we are _all_ hurting." Happy had a way with no nonsense responses.

"Sly's right, Happy. I'm picking up on some serious guilt markers in Paige, more so than guilt from just leaving. There's emotional guilt in there too. And if my lip reading is correct, based on Cabe's previous comment, I think Paige was about to reveal some strong feelings for our injured megalomaniac upstairs. That little minx!" Toby's calculated gaze switched to that of a happy smirk. He always knew the former liaison cared for the team and more so for the high and mighty leader of the pack, but this was too much to hope for.

"Doc…shut up. They're coming this way."

"What are we waiting for?" Cabe got to the point when he joined the group.

"I checked with the nice lady at the reception desk and she said that Walter is still in the Emergency wing of the hospital but that was all she would tell me," Sylvester explained.

"Well, let's go."

"Yes, sir!" With a salute, Toby and Happy took the lead in bringing everyone to the Emergency waiting room.

Sylvester brought up the rear with Paige and Ralph.

"Paige, I would just like to apologize for my words back at the crash site." Sylvester saw Paige flinched at his choice of words but he continued. "I understand now why you made the choice that you did and I do not fault you for it. You were protecting Ralph." He looked down at the boy attached to Paige. "Something we all should have been doing."

Paige stopped moving forward and touched Sylvester's arm.

"Thank you, Sylvester. I appreciate your apology. And I'm sorry too for snapping at you earlier. If you couldn't tell, I'm a bit of an emotional wreck right now." Paige tried to laugh it off but she was still hurting.

"Well, I'm an emotional wreck all the time so I can get where you are coming from."

Paige gave a genuine laugh to his response and she quickly gave him a hug which he returned warmly.

When the three rejoined the team, Paige could see that there was tension radiating from them.

"What do you mean you can't give us any information on his condition?" Cabe's voice seemed to echo throughout the room.

"Sir, unless you are family, we can't divulge that information."

"But we _are_ family." Toby was trying to reason with the receptionist.

"Excuse me." Paige wove her way through the team with Ralph in her arms. "Ma'am, I would like to see my husband and this little boy wants to see his dad. This man," she said gesturing to Cabe," is Walter's father. This loud-mouth," pointing to Toby, "is my brother and this his wife, my sister-in-law." Happy tried not to punch the psychiatrist as Toby pulled her to his side. "And that teddy bear in the corner of the room is my baby brother." They all looked at Sylvester who had barely made it into the waiting room.

"Walter also has a sister in this hospital undergoing MS treatment. If you don't believe me, please feel free to check. Her name is Megan O'Brien."

The receptionist did just that and looked back up from her computer screen when she confirmed the sibling connection.

"So, as my brother told you, we _are_ family. Please, we would like to know the condition of Walter O'Brien."

The receptionist looked taken aback but recovered.

"Mr. O'Brien is still in surgery. That's all the information inputted into the computer at this time. I will update you as I can."

"Thank you. That's all we ask." She hugged Ralph to her tightly as she turned away from the woman.

The group took their cue from Paige and wandered away from desk.

"Good job, kiddo."

Paige gave Cabe a small smile as she placed Ralph in one of the waiting room chairs.

Toby stepped up to Paige.

"Telling lies but adding multiple bits of truth to make it all more believable. Well played."

"I only gave one piece of factual information, Toby."

"Riiiiiight…"

Paige was about to admonish him but was interrupted again by the receptionist.

"Mrs. O'Brien?"

"Now doesn't _that_ have a nice ring to it, _Mrs. O'Brien_?"

"Toby…shut up." She walked away from the annoying but meaning well genius and returned to the front desk.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you mind filling out this paperwork for your husband?" The receptionist asked as she passed a clipboard across the desk.

Paige nodded, grabbing the clipboard and brought it back to her chair.

"Filling out paperwork. What else is new?" Paige sighed.

* * *

 _SOOOOOOOO…..what do you think?! I had some fun with this one._ _Please keep those reviews coming! They fuel my writing. You are the BEST!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi all! Thank you for your reviews!_ _Here is the next installment! Paige has to call Drew! Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation? Here's my take on what it might be like._

 _DISCLAIMER: You know the drill…_

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Paige finished up the paperwork quickly. She never had to fill out medical forms for Walter before but she knew most of his information and what she didn't was supplemented by the team. Taking one last chance to do a once over all of the documents, she stood and returned the clipboard to the front desk.

"Here you go."

"Thank you, Mrs. O'Brien."

Paige smiled at the term. As much as she hated to admit it, Toby _was_ right. She did like the sound of that.

"Um, before I sit down, any news?"

"I'm sorry, not at this time."

"Ok, thank you."

It disheartened Paige that there was no new information about Walter. The paperwork had been a nice distraction for a few minutes but now that was gone.

As she returned to her chair next to Ralph she noticed someone was missing.

"Where did Sylvester go?" She looked around as if she had missed him the first time. Cabe answered her question.

"He went to see Megan to give her an update. She had been calling a lot while we were out on that road but he was focused on Walter."

"Understandable." The mechanic chimed in briefly.

Guilt washed over Paige again. They had all been on that road trying to help Walter and where had she been? She should have been there. She checked her watch and cursed silently in her head. Leaning over, she gave Ralph a quick kiss on the forehead and walked to the agent.

"Hey. Do you think I could borrow your phone? I need to call Drew." Paige tried to be quiet but she saw Toby and Happy turn their heads in her direction.

"Sure, but where's yours?"

"Airport. I left it in my bag which stayed at the airport. Nothing else of importance was in there, just clothes but it's still annoying. Do you think the airport will hold it?"

"Standard protocol after 9-11 was any abandoned luggage would be retrieved by bomb squad and destroyed." Cabe didn't sugar coat it.

"Great." She sighed. "I'll just be a few minutes."

"Take your time, kid."

Paige smiled gratefully at the man and headed out of the waiting room avoiding the blatant stares of the mechanic and psychiatrist. As she neared the lobby, she dialed Drew's number. She didn't have to wait long for him to pick up.

"Hello?!"

"Hey Drew, its Paige." She waited for the bombardment and wasn't disappointed.

"Paige! Where the hell are you? I've been calling you for an hour! You never showed at the airport. The airline said you never even boarded!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't have my phone on me. I'm at the hospital."

"What?! What's wrong? Is it Ralph?"

"No! No, Ralph is fine. He's with me. It's…Walter." Paige could hear the inhale of breath on the other end of the phone.

"Of course it is." Drew's voice dropped to an artic tone as he practically hissed the words out.

"Drew…" she started to reason with him but was cut off.

"No, you always drop everything for Walter."

"No I don't! He was in a bad car accident, Drew. Ralph and I were at the airport when we found out. I'm sorry, but we needed to go see him."

There wasn't any point in explaining the details. He wouldn't listen to her anyway.

"Walter does whatever he can to catch your attention. Don't you get it, Paige! You told him you were leaving and he pulls this stunt!" Drew's words rubbed her the wrong way. He had no idea what Walter was going through.

"He is fighting for his life!"

"I'm sure he calculated the perfect angle for him to have his wreck so it would seem like he was in danger but really he was in total genius control like usual."

"How dare you." It was her turn for the icy tone.

"Ralph shouldn't be around him. He shouldn't be around any of them. Neither should you, but obviously I know where you would rather be."

"I'd rather be with my son and he belongs there. He belongs in a place where he can reach his full potential with people who are just like him." She knew she sounded like Walter, but she finally understood what he had been saying all these months.

"Walter has brainwashed you." Paige ignored the comment.

"You know what? You missed seven years of Ralph's life. You _abandoned_ us. You don't get to walk in after that long and dictate what's best for him. You didn't see him before Scorpion. You didn't see how distant he was or how he would just go through the motions of his day. You've only seen the more connected, happy boy and guess what? _That_ was _not you_. It was _them_." She was seething and she knew she needed to calm down.

"Listen, I don't want to fight with you right now. I just want you and Ralph to get on a plane and come to Maine."

"I'm sorry, Drew, but I don't think that will be happening any time soon."

"You told me to take this gig! You said you and Ralph would move here."

Paige knew exactly what she said and she knew that she had been emotional when she made those decisions. Now she had to fix it.

"I still think you should take the job and I think you will be great at it. But you told me that us moving to Maine would be about being a family for Ralph. Ralph's home is here. We have _family_ here and I'm not going to take him from them. And not all families reside in the same place, Drew. We can visit you when we can and you should do the same."

"That's it? Just like that?!"

"That's it for now, yes. Now, I need to get back to the waiting room."

"Paige, this conversation is far from over."

"It's over for right now, Drew. Goodbye."

Without hearing what else he had to say, she ended the call. Taking a shaky breath, she turned to head back to see if there was any information about Walter's condition. Walking back through the waiting room entrance, eyes returned to her. She headed over to Cabe and handed him back his phone.

"Everything alright?"

"For now. Thank you." She rubbed his back in gratitude before asking her next question.

"Anything?" Paige asked, looking longingly around the waiting room corner and hoping for something to have happened while she was gone.

"Not yet."

Paige simply nodded and went to sit back down next to Ralph, who was reading a magazine next to Happy. The waiting game continued.

* * *

 _What did you think? Now we are up to the final sections of the finale! I know I've had a bunch of suggestions for a Walter-response to Paige's final scene admissions. I'm trying to work on that! Also, I have a new story that I'm working on called_ _ **Means To An End**_ _. It's not done yet but it's classy Waige lovin', if you know what I mean. ;-) So be on the look out! REVIEWS ARE LOVE!_


	5. Chapter 5

_LONGEST CHAPTER YET! I've been working on this for days and it was hard to write because I don't want to disappoint anyone! EEK! The moment you've all been waiting for. Will Walter hear Paige or not? Here we go…_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own that genius with a 197 IQ, but if I did…_

* * *

Having Richard Elia show up at the hospital was unexpected. Cabe was concerned that Walter's condition might cloud the team's judgement but he shouldn't have been worried. They were stronger than ever before. They all stuck together, even Paige. When Toby questioned her about the "we" comment she had made, Paige's knowing smile and Ralph's confirmation of what _everyone_ had been telling the mother about Maine's weather was all they needed to hear. For now, the whole incident became water under the bridge. Cabe hoped that it would remain so.

Once they were brought back to Walter's post-op room, the former agent couldn't help but notice how frail Walter looked lying in the hospital bed. Walter was strong but he had been broken. That was what happened when a mortal went up against a ton of steel and 300 feet of rock.

Cabe also noticed the goofy smile on his face when everyone walked in. He thought it was a great thing when Walter smiled his genuine smile and not the fake plaster smile he would put on for jobs. His inhibitions were down and he was showing 'the world' how he really felt. Granted, he knew that was in part to the medication that the doctors must have him on, but with no wall to hide behind, everyone could see Walter's full emotions, even though he claimed not to have them.

Cabe's point was proven when Paige mentioned seeing Walter back at work. The genius sat up in bed with a confused frown on his face. He could see the wheels turning in Walter's head as to try to understand her statement. When Paige confirmed her words, meaning she was telling Walter that she and Ralph _weren't_ leaving, the grin on his face returned and it was brilliant.

"Well, that put a smile on his face." He was pleased to see that Paige's effect on Walter had grown even more that the genius was probably aware.

"That and the drugs," Toby confirmed.

 _Way to ruin it, Doc_ , Cabe thought to himself, shaking his head as he left the room with the amazing misfits in tow behind him.

As Cabe headed to his car he contemplated the last 24 hours and how his life almost changed for the worst. First, having to come clean with Walter nearly ruined a relationship he had been trying so desperately to repair. And then nearly losing Walter again brought back memories of losing his daughter so many years before. He couldn't bear the thought of losing another child, because that's what Walter was to him: _his son_.

Paige watched as Ralph left with Happy and Toby. She saw how happy he was. He even voiced his thoughts before he left, thanking her for letting him stay with Scorpion. She would never be able to deny her son anything, especially if it made him like this.

Once they were out the door, her attention switched to her friend in his hospital room and quickly headed back there. After a few words with the doctor, she moved to his bedside. She didn't know what to say or how to say it but the words began to flow out of her. And before she knew it, she was leaning over Walter's bedside giving him a sweet kiss. Even though she knew only she would know about the kiss, it still felt right.

"I really care about you, Walter." She pulled back, running a hand through his hair slightly and down his cheek.

A slight moan came from the bed as Paige pulled her hand away from his face.

"Walter?" Paige started to panic slightly. She didn't want Walter to think that she was taking advantage of him while he was passed out. "Are you awake?" She certainly wasn't ready to reveal her feelings to his conscious self yet either.

"Mmmm hmmm. My eyes are heavy."

"Um, ok?"

"My eyes…its morphine. Whole body feels heavy."

"The doctor said you were knocked out. How…"

"Eh, what do doctors know?"

Paige took that to be a rhetorical question. She noticed that he certainly appeared to be awake (minus the closed eyes) but he was slurring some of his words so he might not be as 'all there' as she thought.

"Would you like me to go get someone?" She lightly touched his hand to get his attention.

"No. Already have someone." He finally managed to open his eyes, although they were more like slits, and smiled in her direction.

Paige felt Walter squeeze her hand lightly. She smiled in return.

"How are you feeling?"

"Mmmm, horrible. But better.

"Those don't really go together, you know?" She had said it more as a joke, a way to lighten the mood. She remembered his comment when the team came in the room about being better and never better. Toby blamed his head injury.

"I hurt, but you're here so's fine."

Paige was caught a little offguard at that comment. She figured he didn't know what he was saying so she tried to get him to go back to sleep.

"You should rest. You need to heal."

"Kay."

She started to pull her hand from his as his breathing evened out but his grip tightened.

"Stay."

Smiling to herself, she pulled up a chair to his bedside and sat down, keeping her hand in his.

"Ok. I'll stay."

Walter jolted awake. There was light streaming in through the shades at the window and it was catching him in the eye. He tried to move and only groaned. It was then that he remembered being in the hospital.

Everything started to come back to him: the job with the nerve gas; Cabe coming clean about Bagdad and subsequently throwing him off the team; Ralph helping at the site consequently leading to Paige walking out on him and the team to protect her son; picking up the keys to the Ferrari and having the high speed run in with a coyote; fighting for his life on the cliff and his team fighting for it too; Paige and Ralph showing up just in time; Cabe pulling him from the car and getting him to safety; waking up from surgery and seeing his team in his room; Paige and Ralph staying in Los Angeles; Paige kissing him; holding Paige's hand.

Those last two seemed a bit fuzzy to him which was solidifying the idea that they had been dreams. He was disappointed with that discovery. As he looked around the room, he saw the traditional furniture of a hospital room but it was missing what he had hoped to see: Paige. He knew it had been a dream.

He looked around slightly and found his call button for the nurse. He figured since he was up, he may as well get his care underway. No need to remain here longer than necessary.

The door opened and when the person who walked through was not his nurse he nearly had a heart attack.

"Hey! You're awake! I'm sorry I wasn't here. I just stepped out to make a call to Happy to check and see if she and Ralph were on their way here." Paige bustled through the door and Walter's voice caught in his throat. _Maybe it hadn't been a dream_ …

"Wait, you were here? All night?"

"Yeah. You wanted me to stay."

Walter looked at her with a confused look.

"You don't remember telling me to stay do you?"

"Vaguely. I just didn't think it really happened."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"Should I?"

Paige was saved by the doctor stopping by to check Walter's vitals. There was some poking and proding but Walter took it like a champ, only grimacing but keeping his sounds and comments to himself. As the doctor left, it seemed that both Paige and Walter released a deep breath they had been holding.

The two eased into silence before Walter voiced something he had been recalling.

"Are you and Ralph really staying?"

"Yes, Walter, we are."

"While that's a new and positive development, may I ask why?"

"We almost lost you, Walter..."

"You shouldn't stay out of obligation." Walter cut her off. He didn't want pity.

"That's not what I mean, Walter." Paige took a breath and continued. "We almost lost you and I realized that you not being in our lives wasn't an option for us. You and this team are what matter to both Ralph and I. You have given us the opportunity to function as a family and in return you all are our family. Whether we were on the other side of the country or not, us not being a part of Scorpion was not an…efficient…decision, for Ralph or myself." She couldn't help winking at the genius when she used his signature term.

"Eh, what about…Drew?" Walter refrained from sneering at the name.

"I've talked to him and while I don't know if he'll come around to the idea of us being here and him being in Maine," Paige tried not to notice Walter's eyes light up at the idea of Drew not remaining in California. "He does know my thoughts on remaining here with Ralph, whether he likes it or not."

"Mmmm."

"Are you ok with that? With us staying?"

"Yes." There had been no hesitation in Walter's voice.

Paige looked into his wide, happy eyes and burst out laughing. She had been a bit worried that somewhere deep down he would have nixed the idea of her coming back to the team. Honestly, she still didn't know where Cabe stood either.

In her giddiness, she leaned over and kissed Walter on the cheek. As soon as her lips touched his cheek, they both froze. Paige pulled back just enough to catch something in Walter's eyes. She couldn't tell if it was panic or something else, so she looked anywhere she could rather than at him and backtracked.

Before she could get very far, Walter's hand met hers and held her close to him. When she dared to look back at him he was regarding her with a new eye.

"Thank you, for staying."

"You asked me to."

"Not just for last night." Paige understood what he was saying, that he was happy she and Ralph were staying in the city and with the team. "I don't think Scorpion would have survived long without you."

"Walter…"

"And I know I wouldn't know how to function without you."

"Walt…"

"I appreciate you…more than you know."

Before Paige had a chance to comment again, Walter's lips captured hers in a heated kiss. She never imagined it to be this way, so much passion drowning her in the one kiss. Walter's head was spinning as he tried to focus and let go of all things in his mind during this event. He knew he had feelings for Paige but the culmination of it was almost too much for the genius to bear.

As the two pulled away for breath, there was a small knock at the door.

"Mom? Walter?"

The jumped back from each other but shared a knowing smile before turning their attention to the young boy who had entered the room with Happy and, shockingly, Toby in tow.

"Hey honey! Did you have fun last night?" Paige gathered herself enough to go and grab her son up in a massive hug. Walter watched the two in awe.

"Yeah, Toby taught me how to understand bluffs."

"You taught my son how to gamble?" Paige was stunned and sneered at the psychiatrist.

"What? No. Not gamble. Bluff as in lying and understanding traditional behavioral markers." Toby tried to explain.

"I was giving him statistical probabilities of people not telling the truth in specific situations he was coming up with." Ralph's sweet voice made everything seem innocent in nature, although Paige's thoughts didn't lean that way.

"We were associating colors with situations: red was a high risk of lying, yellow was borderline fibs and little white lies while green was a truthful zone." Paige couldn't deny that Toby's logic seemed sound. She looked to Walter who had a similar look on his face.

"The kid was actually getting pretty good," Happy interjected.

"Well, I guess that sounds like fun."

"Good job, buddy." Walter was proud of Ralph opening up and learning something new to expand upon his high IQ.

"So, did we miss anything while we were gone?" Toby raised his eyebrows as if to goad Paige and Walter on, but they didn't give anything away.

"No, it was pretty uneventful."

"I was on morphine so I don't remember much."

Or so they thought. It was quiet for a moment before a little voice piped up.

"Red."

* * *

 _Hahahaha! I felt Walter was a little out of it in the finale, so I do think drugs affect him. Because of this, I decided to make Walter continue to be a little loopy from the drugs but not entirely out of it when on the Morphine due to his brain function. I hope you all liked it! Now that this story is done (unless you would like me to continue one or two more chapters) I will be moving on to "Means To An End" which should be up by the end of the week! Reviews are love and I would really LOVE to hear what you think about this new chapter. Like I said, it was tough to right. I hope I did you justice!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Means To An End is taking longer than anticipated because I want it to be a one-shot and because I keep adding to it. Add to that being sick for the last week and it pushed everything back. I figured I would take a break and do what many of you requested…add more chapters to this story! So…here you go!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scorpion._

* * *

Walter left the hospital after a week and for all involved it had been one hell of a long week. Walter wasn't the best patient. As they began to wean him off of the pain medication, knowing that he would still remain on some when he left the facility, his sharper mind fully returned to him and he ended up trying to tell the doctors and nurses better ways to do their jobs.

Now granted, this was not all of the time. Just when there was no one there to keep him occupied. Megan stopped by when she was doing her physical therapy. Walter had told her not to come, but Megan made the argument that it was good incentive for her exercises. He couldn't fault her for that.

When Megan came, Sylvester was usually in tow. Walter had always thought that both he and his sister would be alone in their lives. Now she had Sylvester and while he had initially been worried about his best friend becoming too involved he was extremely grateful for the new couple. It kept them both occupied and honestly, hopeful for the future.

Walter only wished he could share in that sentiment.

Toby and Happy were also usually together, though they would come in and leave arguing with each other. It meant Walter never really had to entertain them while they were with him. He would just watch them interact. He thought he was getting better at reading people, picking up on things that Toby usually observed, and then Happy or Toby would do something he least expected and it brought him back to square one. Human behaviors were definitely not his specialty.

When Cabe visited it was usually the quietest. He would bring Walter a notepad so he could jot down equations or notes or whatever while he would sit quietly with a newspaper or book. Cabe just wanted to be with Walter and know he was ok. He didn't need to talk his ear off and Walter appreciated it.

The times that Walter really didn't mind the extra chatter was when Paige and Ralph visited. They were at the hospital more than the rest of the team. They tended to visit before Ralph went to school in the morning and after he was picked up in the afternoon. They talked about Ralph's school, Paige's classes, Walter's rocket and rarely work.

Until Walter was healed and they figured out how Scorpion would proceed, the team's work hours had been shortened.

And that was where Walter found himself going today: back home and therefore back to Scorpion. Paige had picked him up from the hospital while Ralph was still in school. It was going to be a surprise for him when she picked him up later that afternoon and took him to the garage instead of the hospital.

The ride to the garage was quiet aside from the radio. Walter itched to take Paige's hand, which was sitting on the gearshift. Ever since their kiss in the hospital room and practically being outted by Ralph, the two took a step back. Paige would still hold his hand while he would lie in his bed and listen to Ralph talk. She would give him kisses on the cheek as she arrived and departed, but nothing more than that. Walter found himself missing that contact with her and wanted to know if it had been a fluke.

Paige watched Walter eye her hand and smiled as she reached over and picked up his left hand with her right. He looked back at her with a grateful look.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine." The genius's nonchalant reply didn't appear faze her anymore.

"You happy to be going home?" She pushed.

"Yes. A week in the hospital was more than enough time. Too long." Walter was staring out the window grateful to be out of that sterile environment.

"Well, your doctor said you still need to take it easy. I'll take you back for your checkup next week."

"I'm sure I can drive myself."

"Oh, I don't think so. It's cute that you think can but don't try to convince me that you'll be _fine_. I know what that means in Walter-ese."

"Walter-ese?" He practically snorted.

"You heard me. You have your own language and subtexts. The word _fine_ for you means something totally different than most people."

"I don't believe that."

"I figured you wouldn't. But remember how Rebecca was the _Cabe-whisperer_?"

"Yes. You think you are the _Walter-whisperer_?" Walter knew the answer to the question as soon as he asked it.

"I know I am," she said with a wink.

He smirked at her as they pulled up to the garage. Paige had her hand on her door ready to step out when Walter's voice stopped her.

"Hey, before we go in there, I want to talk to you about something."

"Ok. Go ahead.

"Paige, what happened in the hospital last week…I…"

"Walter. Please don't say it was a mistake."

"What? No. I don't think it was a mistake. I just know we never were able to talk about it and I don't know when we'll have time once we walk in the garage."

"Are you feeling insecure?"

"I'm out of my depth here. This is not my area of expertise, it's yours. Emotions, feelings…I don't know what to make of them and I don't know what to do because of them."

"Hey…we'll get through this together, ok?"

"Ok. Just help me, because I don't want to mess this up."

She smiled at his honesty and leaned in to touch her lips to his. When they did, it seemed to flip a switch inside Walter. His right hand came up to Paige's face and cradled it softly. She melted into the touch. Walter kissed her as long as he could before his side started to hurt from the position he was twisted in, so he pulled away, sadly, before placing another kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you," he said, murmuring into her hair.

"For what?"

"Helping me prove my hypothesis."

"Which was?"

"That _this_ wasn't a fluke."

Paige laughed loudly which made Walter smile. When she calmed herself down, she gave him another quick peck on the lips before pulling away.

"Ok. Ready?" There was something in her tone that made him think that she was asking about more than just going inside.

"As I'll ever be." He only stated facts.

* * *

 _Hooray! Another chapter. What do you guys think of this one? What should happen next? I've got a couple ways I could go, so I'd love your input so I can steer this story in a direction you would like. Should we see what the other geniuses have been up to while getting the garage ready for the fearless leader to return? Should we skip ahead to Ralph? Should we go a different route? Let me know!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Here's the new chapter! Wheeeeeeee!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own nuffin'_

* * *

Walter was happy to see that not much in the garage had changed. He had appreciated the balloons that Sylvester had brought to the hospital but he was grateful there weren't any more party supplies waiting for him when he walked into the garage.

Once the door shut behind Paige and himself, the three other geniuses popped their heads up from wherever they were working and headed over to entrance.

"Walter! You're back!" The human calculator rushed over the quickest and was the first to reach the leader.

"Hey Sylvester." Walter could help the smile that appeared when he saw Sly. He stretched out his fist to bump with the other genius.

"Ah, Walt, buddy. Did you miss me?"

"Toby…" Walter rolled his eyes at the behaviorist.

"It's ok, we can keep it a secret. No need to get the others jealous."

He was rewarded with a smack to the back of the head, care of Happy.

"Walter. Glad you're back. Hasn't been the same with you to keep these two in line," Happy said as she gestured to Toby and Sylvester.

"Don't listen to Happy, Walter." Sylvester wanted to clarify. "Paige has done a wonderful job in your absence. Besides, it's not the first time she's had to be our new Walter."

Paige giggled as Sylvester brought up their job in Las Vegas when Walter had been arrested.

"Good thing I've had practice," Paige said, still chuckling to herself.

Walter couldn't help looking at Paige. Seeing his eyes on her made Paige smile even more and she winked at him. That made him smile return.

"Why don't we get you to sit down, ok Walter?"

"Yeah. I guess that would be good."

Once he was seated on the couch, Walter's friends began telling him of their most recent projects they had been working on.

Paige left the group to catch up while she headed up to Walter's loft. She figured she would do a once over upstairs so when Walter was ready to return 'home' everything would be ready for him. She looked at his unkempt bed that he hadn't slept in for the last week. Thinking it would be nice for him to have clean sheets to sleep on, she set out to find where Walter kept his linens. She hadn't really been up in the loft without Walter before so she was unsure where anything was. Heading towards the bathroom she found a closet door that housed his washer and dryer, but also had sheets and towels. Very few of them, but they were there.

After stripping the bed, she began to carefully replace the sheets. She knew Walter didn't sleep much, partially due to his overactive brain and his Bagdad nightmares, but she couldn't help imagining him sprawled out in his bed exhausted from working a case. She remembered how young he looked lying in the hospital bed and could picture him looking even more relaxed in his own home. She would like to see that in person one day.

She shook away her thoughts and realized she had been hugging his pillow to her chest. It smelled like him and it made her smile. Finishing up, she straightened out his blanket and took the old sheets back to the washer. Starting a load, she headed back to the bathroom, pulled his towel from the back of the door and tossed that into the washer before replacing it with a new, clean towel.

She didn't want to touch too many of Walter's things. She knew it wasn't her place, but she hoped he would appreciate her doing these few things for him. Double checking that the trash didn't need to be taken out (which didn't since he hardly had anything in it), she went back to the landing to check on her four co-workers.

Looking down at them, she could see they were all laughing and joking at something. They were happy, which made Paige happy. She was reminded of the time she and Walter looked out from the loft landing to see Ralph interacting with Happy and Toby. So much had changed for the group, in a good way and she was grateful that she was a part of it.

Walter felt Paige's presence in the room and looked up to find her staring down at all of them. Their eyes met and Walter felt a warmth inside his stomach that he couldn't quite explain but found he didn't want to.

Paige was about to join them when she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. Pulling it out to look at the caller ID her face dropped. Before she answered it, she looked back at Walter whose face also had dropped as if he could sense something was wrong. Giving him an apologetic smile, she left to answer the phone back in the loft.

"Hi Drew."

"I'm glad you _finally_ picked up." Apparently he was still bitter from their last phone call.

"What can I do for you?"

"I would like to see my son this weekend." His answer through her for a loop.

"It's Thursday, Drew. I'm not prepared to send him to Maine this weekend."

"I figured. I'm coming back to California."

"What?"

"I have the weekend off, so I'm coming out for two days to see him and work things out with you."

"Drew, there isn't anything to work out. Ralph and I are staying here in LA."

"Yes, there is. We need to talk about Ralph's future and our family dynamic." She knew they had already been through this and didn't want to go through it again.

"I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"I'm sure you don't, since you are probably with _him_. Oh, I'm sorry…them." Paige rolled her eyes at his comment and tried to be the bigger person.

"Yes, Drew, I'm at work so this really isn't the time."

"Make time, Paige. I'll be there tomorrow." And Drew hung up.

"Ugh!" She starred at her phone and felt the rage at being put in this position.

"Paige?"

She heard Walter call for her from downstairs. She tried to gather her composure as best as she could before heading back out to the landing.

"Yes? Walter?" She looked for him back at the couch where she had last seen him but he wasn't there. She turned to head down the stairs to find him and she did, at the foot of the stairs. He looked like he was contemplating coming up.

"Walter, what are you doing up?"

"I was coming to check on you when I heard you make a noise. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. We need to get you back to the couch."

"Paige…I know you're not _fine_. I may not understand all emotions but I can tell when something is bothering you."

Paige got Walter back on the couch and looked at him before sitting next to him with a heavy sigh.

"It's Drew."

"What about him?"

"He wants to see Ralph. He's flying out from Maine tomorrow."

"Ok? He's apparently making an…effort."

She smiled a little at Walter's effort to understand Drew. Too bad she didn't understand Drew.

"I think he's going to try to convince us to move again." That seemed to sober Walter up.

"But you told him you were staying."

"I know, but apparently that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. He said we needed to talk about Ralph's future and our family dynamic."

"You can't go."

"Walter…I don't intend to. Ralph and I belong here."

"I don't want you to go."

She recalled when the topic of Maine was brought up a few months ago. Walter finally began opening up about how he didn't want Ralph to leave because he cared about him and added that he cared about her too. It was the first time she started to think that there may be something between them. Now he was using the same phrase and she could see how much it pained him.

She reached her hand out and held onto his in his lap.

"I'm not going anywhere. We are staying with Scorpion." She wanted to add 'with you' but she didn't want to freak Walter out.

He squeezed her hand back and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I would appreciate that."

Paige giggled.

"And I appreciate you, Walter."

* * *

 _What do you think about the new chapter? I hope you like it. Please review and let me know if you would like to see something happen in an upcoming chapter._


	8. Chapter 8

_I had a bit of insomnia tonight after all of the SDCC posts (so awesome) so I figured I'd make good use of my time and write another chapter! I hope you enjoy!_

 _DISCLAIMER: You know the drill._

* * *

When Paige left that afternoon to go pick up Ralph, Walter pulled Toby aside to chat with the psychiatrist.

"Drew will be here tomorrow."

"What for? I thought Paige gave him the heave-ho, so to speak." Toby's mind couldn't grasp the need for the dead beat dad to make a return about.

"He isn't finished with whatever conversation they need to have about Ralph and Maine apparently. She's promised me she and Ralph won't leave, but that's not really what I'm concerned about."

"You know you can't protect her or Ralph in your condition. Not the way you want to be able to."

Walter eyed Toby speculatively. He still couldn't figure out how Toby could read people like that when he never could, but that's why Toby was the behaviorist and Walter wasn't.

"Exactly."

"Walt, buddy, I've got your back. When Drew arrives tomorrow, you better believe that I will be there to ensure that they are safe. Hell, I'll make sure the whole team is around. As Cabe said, Happy is the toughest on the team."

"I don't know if that will be necessary…" Walter didn't feel the need to get everyone involved but apparently Toby felt differently.

"Ralph is one of us, as is Paige. This affects us too. I'm not saying that we butt in on the conversation, though I'm perfectly happy to just that. I'm just saying that all of us being there in the garage will help present a united front. We are here for the Dineens and we will always be there for them. It's what a cyclone does."

"Thank you, Toby."

"Ah, Walter…I love our bonding moments, especially over something this important."

Walter looked at Toby with a questioning look.

"We both dislike Drew."

"I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Really. And I've tried to stay out of it. But you should have seen the way Paige looked after his phone call this morning."

"You don't have to tell me, buddy. I was there after the first call, when you were still in surgery. She looked a little worse for wear. However, there was definitely a glint in her eye. Something Drew said pissed her off and mama bear was mad."

"Damnit." Walter was frustrated that he hadn't asked for any more details about the phone call from Paige.

"Hey…nothing you could do about it, pal. Besides, she's a fighter. She's going to fight for what's best for that little boy."

"I know."

"And she's going to fight for you too."

"Toby."

"I'll rally the troops. You can count on us." Toby was hollering over his shoulder ignoring the rolling eyes of the 197 genius.

Walter thought back on his friendship with Toby: the close calls, the bail outs, the mind games, the fun times. He knew that had a rough patch back in Vegas last Fall but they were stronger than ever. He knew he could absolutely count on his friend and his team. They knew how important Scorpion was to Walter but how important Paige and Ralph were as well, even if he'd never admitted it.

He hobbled over to his desk and began checking his system. He hadn't touched his computer in over a week and since he wouldn't be leaning over his rocket anytime soon, he figured he could run diagnostics, set up some knew programs and maybe work on some things for Ralph.

Walter had been sitting at his desk for twenty-two minutes when the door to the garage opened. Ralph walked in asking his mother questions.

"But why are we at the garage? You said we could visit Walter."

Walter smiled and stood from his desk and started walking in Ralph's direction.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm not at the hospital anymore."

"Walter!"

"Hey, pal."

Ralph ran up to the genius and wrapped his arms around Walter's legs, careful to avoid his injury on his left side.

Paige's breath caught in her throat. Ralph had always had a close relationship with the team, especially Walter, but this was the first time he had voluntarily hugged anyone other than Paige herself. She watched as Walter's hand caressed her son's head, as he was so fond of doing, before kneeling in front of him to look her son in the eye.

"I'm pleased you are back," the young genius said quietly.

"Me too."

"We will be able to finish the rocket now that you are home."

"Yes, eventually. I'm not able to work on it for the next few weeks, but you can help me with prepping the next phase of the build. If your mom is ok with that." Walter looked back over to Paige who seemed to be struggled to hold back her emotions.

"Who am I to keep two hard working geniuses from their groundbreaking project?"

"Can we start now?" Ralph was always eager to help Walter, which only made the older man smile.

"Um, I need to have a word with your mom first. How about you run over to Proton Arnold and play a game until we are finished."

Walter looked over to Paige to make sure he said the appropriate thing.

"And then you need to get washed up because we are having dinner here."

"Cool!"

Walter's questioning look earned him a smile from Paige as the boy ran off to start a new game.

"Dinner?"

"Do you mind?"

"No. It's just new information."

"Listen, I know you want to talk about Drew coming tomorrow. Having dinner here allows us to talk more."

"Efficient."

"Your favorite word besides _fine_." She little nudged him in the shoulder with her own.

"Point taken."

"Have you told him yet?" Walter asked, looking back over to Ralph, who was engrossed in the game.

"No. I figured after we talked I would let him know. We'll see how he takes it."

"Toby told me that your first phone call with Drew wasn't pleasant." Walter noticed Paige looked flustered. "He didn't eavesdrop or anything like that. He just observed, like Toby tends to do."

"No, I know. And it wasn't exactly an easy conversation."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Walter, you had just been in a horrific accident. There was no need to bring it up."

"I just wish I had known."

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

The conversation started out with just Walter and Paige, but they were joined by Toby, Happy and Sylvester shortly afterward. Toby didn't disappoint Walter. He had explained the situation and the whole team was on board. Cabe would even be by tomorrow when Drew arrived as additional backup.

While Walter didn't want to leave Paige alone with Drew, he knew it was the best solution. He couldn't be directly involved as he had no reason to be, according to Drew. It wasn't his fight. That didn't settle well with the genius, but he had to accept facts and the fact of the matter was that Ralph was not his son. He may be a mentor to the boy and Paige's boss, but that was it.

However, now the lines were beginning to blur. The new relationship with Paige was starting to confuse those lines, but he respected Paige's decision to do this on her own, whether he agreed with her or not.

Once dinner was finished, Sylvester went to run some numbers at his desk while Toby and Happy were on dish duty.

"Ready to tell him?" Walter had walked over to Paige, who was watching Ralph.

"I guess."

"I'll be here if you need me."

"Thank you." She leaned in to give him a quick kiss on his lips, but she couldn't decide if it was for her benefit or his. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her son, who had retreated to the couch after dinner.

"Hey honey."

"Hi mom. Look, it's the latest issue of Super Fun Guy. Sylvester let me read it."

"That was very nice of him. I hope you told him that."

"Of course."

Hugging her son to her, she leaned away before broaching the subject.

"Ralph, your father will be here tomorrow to see you."

"Is he declining the coaching job?"

"No, I think he's keeping it."

"So he's not staying in Los Angeles?" Ralph asked without looking up from his comic.

"No, he will live and work in Maine."

"But we aren't leaving Scorpion." That statement pulled his focus back to his mom.

"No. We are staying here."

"Good. I don't want to go to Maine."

"I know, baby. I remember you telling me that."

Paige looked back over to Walter for additional support.

"But, if you're father wants to see you, even in Maine, would you be willing to do that?"

"Do I have to?"

"No, not at this point. I just bring it up because you're father and I have to have a talk about whether or not that would be a possibility."

"I'd rather not. I'm happy here."

"Ok, sweetheart. No one is forcing you into anything."

"Can I finish the comic book before we go home?"

"Of course."

With a quick kiss to his forehead, Paige stood up from the couch and returned to Walter who was now waiting by his desk.

"While that was relatively easy and painless, I doubt tomorrow's conversation with Drew will go as smoothly."

"No matter what, we are here for you and Ralph."

"Thank you, Walter."

The two looked back at Ralph and wondered what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter. When Drew arrives, there will no doubt be more fireworks…of all varieties! Stay tuned and please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi all! Sorry for the delay. I've been in rehearsals for a show and it's taken me away from my computer! But don't worry, the next chapter is almost done as well, so the wait for that one shouldn't be as long! Thanks for your reviews and to the new followers! I hope you enjoy!_

 _DISCLAIMER: CBS owns Scorpion._

* * *

Paige and Ralph were at the garage first thing in the morning, as had been the routine for nearly the past year. But this morning there was tension in the air throughout the garage. Everyone, except for Ralph, was on edge because of Drew's impending visit. He hadn't let Paige know when he was arriving, just that it would be today, so everyone was on pins and needles waiting for the door to open.

Walter kept his mind as occupied as possible by working with Ralph on the prep work for the next step of his rocket calibration. He kept stealing glances back at Paige, who was watching the two closely. When their eyes would meet, there was an understanding between them, as if to assure the other that everything would be ok.

Happy had her welding helmet on, but instead of blaring music through her earbuds like usual, she had both ears tuned to the door, ready to jump into action at any minute, tool in hand to emphasize her protective point.

Toby was pacing around his desk with a book in each hand as he was known to do, but he was barely paying attention to any of the words on the page. He wasn't distracted, just giving off appearances. He wanted to appear that it was a normal day, for Ralph and for the rest of the team, even though he knew it was in fact far from normal.

Sylvester was working at his chalk board on a new algorithm, one that ran all of the possibilities of today's inevitable interactions. He had used specific variables to represent each member of the team and the board was now filled with multiple equations that there was hardly any space left to work. Walter had recognized it almost immediately this morning, but didn't mention it.

Checking her watch, Paige walked over to her son and Walter to interrupt their work.

"Ok sweetheart. It's time for school."

"Mom, do I have to go?"

"Yes. You are so close to the end of the year. Let's finish out strong, ok?" Ralph's shoulders slumped a bit more, so she tried a different tactic. "Besides I'm sure Sloan will be happy to see you."

Ralph perked up a bit at that comment and ran off to grab his backpack.

"Incentivizing school by mentioning his crush. Interesting tactic." Walter smirked.

"I didn't even know if it would work," Paige said, a bit dumfounded at her son's response.

"I'm not surprised it did."

"Why do you say that?"

"When I first started my research with Cabe Jr. for Megan's MS, there were days when I didn't want to come downstairs for work because I wanted to focus on finding a solution for her. But the incentive of seeing you is what brought me downstairs every day."

"Walter…that's so sweet."

"I'm just stating facts," he said a bit uncomfortably.

"I know, but it's still sweet." She wrapped her arms around him in gratitude.

Walter blushed slightly at proximity of Paige's body to his but returned her hug gently. He felt Paige melt into his body and he reveled in the feeling.

"Mom! Let's go!" Ralph's little voice called throughout the garage.

"Guess someone is anxious to see his _girlfriend_ ," Paige said, pulling back from Walter and starting to walk towards her son.

"I know the feeling." Walter meant for his comment to be under his breath but apparently it wasn't as quiet as he thought as Paige looked back at Walter with a stunned look on her face.

They hadn't put a label on their relationship yet, but she couldn't help feeling her heart swell at the meaning behind his words. Walter's eyes grew in size at the acknowledgment and saw Paige walking back to him.

"Uh, I mean…"

Paige cut him off with a kiss.

"MOM!"

Paige broke away from Walter with a giggle as he seemed to be recovering from her sudden attack.

"I'll be back."

"O-ok. Be careful."

Walter followed Paige on autopilot and made sure she and Ralph exited the garage alright. When her car speed away, Toby came up and snapped Walter of his revelry.

"You ok, Walt?"

"What? Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know. You just seem a bit preoccupied."

"I'm fine."

"They aren't going anywhere, Walter."

Walter looked back at Toby, who was giving the genius a sympathetic look. Walter pursed his lips, released a breath through his nose and nodded in acknowledgement.

Before the two could do anything else, the garage door opened. All four geniuses knew it couldn't have been Paige because she hadn't been gone long enough. With Walter's back to the door, Toby had the best vantage point and saw Drew stepping into the building.

"Show time," Toby said quietly.

Walter turned his body around as Drew approached him. The baseball player was looking around for something…for someone. Walter decided to beat him to the punch, so to speak.

"Paige isn't here. She's taking Ralph to school."

"Ok. Good. This will give you and me the chance to talk."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, I'm not the one you need to talk to. You wanted to talk to Paige."

"I do want to talk to her and I will, but why don't we have a little chat anyway?"

"Fine. What should we discuss? Your beloved pastime? Your son?"

"Paige."

Walter tensed.

"What about Paige?"

"You need to watch yourself, O'Brien. I know that you have been vying for her attention and your latest stunt, the 'car accident', was just the icing on the cake. You knew Paige and Ralph were coming with me to Maine so you sabotaged the whole thing. You just couldn't let them go, could you?"

"It wasn't a stunt. It was a legitimate car accident that I had no involvement in accept being a passenger along for the ride. And I didn't do it to keep them here." Walter spoke the truth, but he would have been lying if he said he wasn't grateful for the outcome.

"Somehow I don't believe you."

"I only state facts and the facts are they were thriving here and you were going to have them abandon their lives just so you could play a game. They belong here."

"With you?!"

"With Scorpion."

The two men stared each other down.

"Might I suggest we all just take a step back and wait for Paige?" Sylvester's quiet voice came from around the corner where he, Toby and Happy were all waiting in case Walter needed them.

"Fine," Walter concurred.

"Fine," Drew agreed.

The two men began to move away from each when Drew decided that he wasn't finished quite yet.

"You know, you think you are better than everyone, don't you O'Brien?"

"Intellectually, I am."

"But I'm still Ralph's father and you aren't." Drew moved back towards the genius and poked him in the chest with his finger. "That's a claim you will _never_ have." Drew's words stung a bit but Walter didn't hold back.

"You're right. I'm not Ralph's father but he is a part of this family, as is Paige, and unlike you, I would never abandon them. And that is something you can _never_ claim." Walter poked Drew back.

"Ooh, burn." Toby's comment did nothing for the tension in the room.

Before anyone could say anything else, the garage door opened again and Paige stepped through. She stopped in her tracks as she took in the scene.

Walter and Drew were about a foot from each other, practically in each other's face. Happy and Toby were a couple feet away from Walter and from their body language, they were ready to help their leader at the drop of a hat, with a reluctant-looking Sylvester standing just behind them. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and moved towards the group.

"Drew? Leave Walter alone."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You wanted to talk to me, so let's talk.

"Fine. In private."

"Guys, would you give us a minute, please?" The request was met with a bit of hesitation before the group began to disperse, with only Walter remaining.

"We'll be in the back if you need us," Walter said, meeting the liaison's eyes.

Paige knew that he was saying 'if you need _me_ ' and she appreciated it so much. She did need him. She was wary of Drew's intensions since he sprung this visit on her and Walter had kept her calm in preparation. She just wanted to get it over with.

Once Walter was out of sight, she turned back to Drew, who was watching the two closely.

"Talk," she pushed.

"Those guys are nuts. This garage isn't safe, especially for Ralph."

"Ralph is perfectly safe here. This team is like his family and they would do anything for him, to protect him." She didn't know how many times she'd have to explain it to him.

"Why are you so damn blind?! These _geniuses_ are crazy and unstable. This is no place for Ralph or you!"

"Our life is here. We aren't just going to up and leave."

"You were going to before Walter's damn accident. You can decide to do it again." Drew grabbed her arms tightly.

"Ow. Drew, that hurts. Let go!"

"HEY! Get your hands off of her!" Walter's voice came quickly from around the corner, as if he had been right there waiting. The three other geniuses followed closely behind.

"This is none of your business, O'Brien. Besides, what do you care? You aren't even human! You are just a robot! You only care about people like yourself and not people like Paige."

And with that, Walter lunged at Drew.

"That did it," Toby said offhandedly to Happy before they both ran to Walter's aid.

The team surrounded the two trying to break it up and yelling for them to stop. But the two men continuing their scuffle. Punches were thrown, grunts and groans were in abundance, and no one could break them apart without being brought into the fight themselves.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" Cabe's voice bellowed throughout the garage as he entered into the MMA match.

The two men were distracted enough that they could be pulled apart. Toby pushed Drew away while Happy pulled on Walter.

"Keep that lunatic away from me!" Drew was rubbing his jaw, no doubt from a swing from Walter.

"Walter?" Paige rushed over to the genius who was grimacing at Drew and clutching his side.

She carefully pried his hand away from his side and gasped as the sight of blood on his hand and seeping through his shirt.

"Oh my god, Walter…"

* * *

 _What did you think?! I hope you liked it. PLEASE review…because I love reading them! You are all the bomb!_


	10. Chapter 10

_First week of performances are done, so back to the story until next week! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it._

 _DICSLAIMER: Blah blah blah, I don't own SCORPION, blah blah blah…_

* * *

"Oh my god, Walter…"

Paige was looking at the blood on his hand and seeping through his shirt.

"Toby!" She called out to the doctor a bit frantically.

"On it!"

Walter was trying to catch his breath and hold in a grunt of pain at the same time. It was proving difficult.

"Someone want to explain to me the reason for the backyard brawl?" Cabe was confused as to why Walter and Drew had been fighting, though he could venture a good guess.

Neither Walter nor Drew seemed willing to talk and Toby and Paige were too focused on Walter, so Sylvester spoke up.

"Drew arrived at the garage to talk to Paige, who wasn't here as she was talking Ralph to school. He insisted that he and Walter needed to have a 'talk' which proceeded to be ineffective. Paige returned and we left so she and Drew to talk in private but he got physical with her by grabbing her arm violently. Walter came out to help her, as we all did. Drew insulted him and well, you can see what happened next."

"I did _not_ insult him." Drew's voice came from the far side of the garage, where Happy had cornered him once Toby left him to look at Walter's injury.

"Oh really? So you telling Walt that he was a robot, not a human, and not capable of caring for people like Paige wasn't insulting? Riiiiiiight. And I'm the Queen of England." Happy scoffed at the Father-of-the-Year.

"Nicely put, Ms. Quinn," Toby yelled over his shoulder.

"Toby, would you get Walter upstairs and take care of him?" Paige wanted to make sure Walter's recovery wasn't jeopardized by this new aggravation to his injury and only Toby would be able to know for sure.

"No, I'm not leaving you with him," Walter said firmly. Paige gave him a small smile in appreciation for his protectiveness towards her. However, he had already gotten hurt by trying to protect her, which made her smile fade.

"Don't worry, son. Happy and I will stay downstairs and keep an eye on things. Sylvester, you go with Walter and Toby. And you," Cabe said, turning his attention on Drew. "You touch Paige again without her permission in _any_ way, you'll be dealing with much more than a fist fight, you got me?" He was up in Drew's face and the baseball player just nodded, unable to speak.

"Please, Walter. Let me handle this." Paige's request was quiet and gentle, but Walter could see the determination in her eyes. He nodded and let Toby steer him to the stairs with Sylvester behind them.

"Oooh, Mama Bear is back in action. Did you see that fire in her eyes?" Toby stated quietly as he half-carried his friend upstairs. "You know the other thing they protect fiercely besides their cub? Their mate."

"Toby. Shut up."

"Just sayin'..."

Once the boys were upstairs in the loft and Cabe and Happy were in the kitchen, Paige turned on Drew.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You come to my job and pick a fight with my boss?!"

"He started it!"

"What are you, five?" Paige scoffed at his retort.

"Believe whatever the hell you want. I know your feelings for him cloud your judgement."

"This is ridiculous. I don't want to fight with you, Drew." She moved towards the couch and away from both the loft and the kitchen.

"I see you're not denying it," Drew called out as he walked after her.

"You are supposed to be here because of Ralph, not Walter. Act like it."

"And _you_ are here _because_ of Walter, not Ralph. Admit it."

"Are you kidding me?! You just got into a fight with a man who is recovering from major surgery who did nothing but come to my aid when you were practically manhandling me. Which one of us is _acting irrationally_ because of Walter?"

Drew didn't have a comeback for that so Paige continued.

"You said you were coming to talk about Ralph."

"You said that two parents raising a child were better than one…" Drew started but Paige cut him off.

"And I used to believe that a long time ago. Hell, I believed that even a few months ago, but then I realized something. I raised Ralph for seven years on my own. He had one parent in his life and while I may have struggled, I never gave up. I never left him. It wasn't easy but I did it and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"But you don't have to do this alone, Paige. Not anymore." He dropped his voice to what he thought was a sympathetic tone.

"We aren't alone. We haven't been alone since I took this job. This team is our family. They look after each other and they look after me and Ralph. I may be Ralph's mom, but he has an adoptive family of aunts and uncles who would do anything for him, include risk their own lives, as if he was their own."

As Paige spoke about the team, she felt her heart warm. Walter's words about a cyclone and protecting their own were echoing in her head. They were a family, through and through. She continued.

"I'm not kicking you out of his life, Drew. But I am keeping him here in Los Angeles. This is his home and he is thriving here. Yes, there will be some adjustments regarding safety, but that's life. You have to make adjustments. Parenting is messy and it's not a science. Mistakes are made and you learn from them. Hopefully you have learned from yours as I have learned from mine. But I will tell you something I have learned recently: it was a mistake to even _think_ about taking Ralph from Scorpion. I've accepted that and I will not be making that mistake again."

"You don't know what you are saying. O'Brien has you brainwashed. He's the reason that Ralph gets put in danger."

"This is not about Walter! This is about Ralph! He is my most important thing and I will not jeopardize his development because of one incident. Humans are fallible, even geniuses. It's about laying the ground rules and following them as best as possible, but life happens. You don't keep your child from the playground because he scraped his knee one time."

"It was an incinerator, Paige!" Drew practically lost it.

"I know and he scared me half to death! But Drew, Ralph saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives that day. I can't fault him for that even though I wasn't pleased about how he did it. But I can _teach_ him that there is a time and place for each action."

"Walter acts like he's the only one who knows what's best for Ralph, but we are his parents." There was a sense of defeat in Drew's voice, like he was losing momentum, but he still wasn't happy with Walter's involvement in Ralph's life.

Paige took a deep breath and tried to calm the waters.

"Walter connects with Ralph differently than you or I do, but that doesn't mean he's replacing either of us. You _are_ Ralph's dad and nothing will ever change that. What we had in the past created that amazing little boy. But what Walter is doing for Ralph now, is helping to mold that little boy's future. He does something that neither one of us will ever be able to do for Ralph. And you can either be a part of that too or you can't."

Drew's shoulders were slightly slumped as he took in Paige's words.

" _I'm_ not keeping you from your son. That is Ralph's decision and your actions dictate those feelings. Right now, he doesn't want to see you because he thinks you are going to take him away from his home. So make your choice. We have."

Upstairs in the loft, Walter was practically holding his breath, both from the pain from his side and his worry for Paige.

"Yup. I thought this happened. Walt, you popped a couple of stitches when you and Drew went at it." Toby was still looking at the wound.

"Great," Walter replied offhand.

"Sly, can you grab me the hydrogen peroxide and Walt's first aid kit?"

"Of course." Sylvester walked towards Walter's bathroom while Toby turned his focus back to Walter.

"Walter, you have to tell me the truth, did he hit you in the side?"

"I don't know."

"You need to think, 197. If you popped a stitch due to the struggle, that's one thing and we can easily fix that. But if he landed a punch on your wound, there could be some internal damage because of it and we need to take that into consideration."

"I don't know, Toby!" Walter was straining to hear the conversation happening downstairs but Toby was making that too difficult.

"I get it. You're EQ is firing on all cylinders. First you get all riled up when Drew hurt Paige, hence the fight, and now you are a jittery mess because they are downstairs and you are up here. But, I need you to focus, just for a minute. Did he hit your injury during the fight?"

Walter took a breath and focused on replaying the fight in his head.

"No."

"You sure?"

Walter made a face and rolled his eyes just as Sylvester returned. Toby took the first aid kit from him without looking away from the injured genius.

"Hey, just checking. Alright, I'll re-stitch the open section. It won't look as pretty as the surgical team's work, but hey, chicks dig scars, right?"

* * *

 _What did you think? Obviously, there is a bit more to come. I'm thinking a few chapters more and then I'll wrap up this bad boy! Please review or leave me comments. They are always great to read! THANK YOU!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Next chapter! Sorry for the delay. I tried to get this out before I went out of town but sadly that didn't happen. But I hope you like it!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own Scorpion. (boo hiss)_

* * *

"You ok, kid?"

Paige had just closed the door to the garage behind Drew when Cabe's voice startled her.

"Yeah. I'm good."

"And things with Drew…"

"…are fine. He's not going to push for me and Ralph to move to Maine again. He's backing off on that subject. We'll work out some sort of visitation if that is something Ralph wants, but we're staying. That's the most important thing."

"That's good to hear." Cabe smiled and looked up towards the loft. "And I know someone else who will be particularly happy to hear that."

"I think so, too." Paige smiled thinking about Walter upstairs. She knew he had been worried that she and Ralph would leave, even though she promised him that wouldn't happen. Now it was official.

"Send those other two geniuses back down here and let Walter know."

"Thank you, Cabe. For being down here and keeping an eye on me. I know Walter didn't want to walk away. I can't say I was too happy about it either, but I didn't want him down here for this. Especially after he got hurt…again. Drew's not the biggest fan of Walter."

"Nor is he of Drew, though I'm sure you already knew that. But you know that kid would do anything for you and for Ralph. We all would. You're stuck with us."

"You don't know how happy that makes me." She circled her arms around the older man who warmly returned the hug.

"I know the feeling," he said. "Now, up you get. Tell our boy the good news."

She smiled at Cabe and headed towards the stairs. As she got closer to the loft she could hear the three men bantering inside. She stood on the landing silently for a moment watching the scene in front of her before interrupting.

"So Doc, how's he doing?"

"Paige." Walter perked up at the sound of her voice. He tried to get up from his seat on the couch but Toby held him down.

"Walt, I mean it. I told you to take it _easy_." Toby's doctor-side was making a strong appearance, which Paige was grateful for. "Ms. Dineen, you will be happy to know that Walt here has been re-patched but needs to take it easy the rest of the day."

"Thank you, Toby."

"I'd say 'anytime' but I really don't want to be constantly fixing up this guy. Let's not make it a habit, ok?" Toby's eyes flicked back and forth between his friends. Paige nodded while Walter's eyes remained glued on Paige.

"Cabe asked for you and Sylvester to come downstairs. I need to talk to Walter for a minute and then we'll both be down."

"Alrighty. Sly-dog, shall we venture downstairs now that my work here is done?"

Sylvester and Toby left the loft and headed downstairs, leaving the new couple a few feet from each other in silence. Walter was the first to break.

"Are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that," Paige said sympathetically looking down at the bloody gauze still on the coffee table.

"I have some pain, but technically, I've experienced worse, so in the grand scheme of things I'm in decent shape."

Paige released a small giggle in response to his verbal breakdown of his condition.

"But really, are you ok? Drew didn't try to hurt you again, did he? I could have stayed. I didn't need to come up here."

"Walter, you were bleeding and in pain. You needed to be looked after."

"So did you!" Walter took a breath to reel in his EQ outburst.

"Walter…I'm fine. Really." Paige moved to sit next to him on the couch and he frowned.

"I'm now starting to understand why you don't like when I say I'm 'fine' because that's an inconclusive description."

"I'm really ok, Walter. I promise. Cabe was there."

"I should have been there."

"You were, when I needed you most but you paid the price." She looked down at his side which was still covered by his bloody shirt. "But you were still with me a few minutes ago, just not physically."

Walter looked confused.

"I felt you with me. I know you well enough to know that you were probably trying to listen in and work your Jedi mind tricks on Drew from here."

"Jedis are make-believe, Paige. They are fictional characters in a story."

"You know what I mean."

Walter stayed silent. She had a point. He had tried to listen and he did think disturbingly violent thoughts about Drew while he was out of commission in his loft.

"So where is Drew?" Walter asked to get the attention off of himself.

"He left."

"He's gone?"

"Yes."

"As in left the garage or left town?"

"He left the garage."

"And…?"

"Drew will be in town the remainder of the weekend to spend time with Ralph, if Ralph is willing to see him." Paige knew that wasn't what Walter was asking so, she continued. "I told you we weren't going anywhere. This is our home and Scorpion is our family."

"You're staying?" Walter looked like he was on the verge of deep emotion as he questioned Paige with his wide eyes and she softened.

"Walter, of course we are."

Walter's face lit up with a smile that Paige didn't know he was capable of. She looked down at her hand as she felt his on top of hers. Twisting her wrist, she clasped her hand in his and squeezed. As she looked back up to Walter's face she could see something in his eyes that had her wondering what he was thinking.

"What is it, Walter?" She asked.

"Can I…uh, can I…" Walter was struggling to get his words out but his actions were clear as his eyes kept dropping to her lips.

"You never have to ask, Walter."

The genius took that as an invitation to lean in, but he still hesitated just before touching Paige's lips. After holding for an extra second, he steeled himself and move forward the last fraction of an inch. The kiss was sweet and simple, but she could truly feel him. She could feel the relief for the Dineen family staying and the care for her in his lips and she couldn't help reciprocating softly and appreciatively. When Walter pulled back, he saw the smile on her lips and knew he did the right thing.

Paige opened her eyes to his starring deep into hers and felt her breath catch at his intensity. She hoped one day Walter would be able to express himself better but for know she would take his emotional cues from their interactions instead of words.

She broke out of her reverie and remembered the rest of the team waiting for them downstairs.

"Why don't you change your shirt, since it is pretty macabre, and then we can head downstairs and join the others."

"Ok."

The two continued to sit on the couch holding hands.

"Walter? You ok?" Paige squeezed his hand again, this time to let him know she was there for him.

"Of course. I'm just pleased that you are still here."

She smiled at his honesty.

"I'll be here as long as you need me."

"Are you referring to Scorpion or to me personally?"

Walter's question caught Paige offguard for a moment but she relaxed when she realized her answer would be the same no matter what.

"Both."

"Good to know," he said with an understanding smirk.

"Now go get changed, mister."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

 _What do you think? There will likely only be one or two more chapters left unless I feel particularly inspired to continue just because I don't want to go much further before Season 2. I'm working on a few other stories at the moment, so I promise there will be more to read from me!_


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